Lander Ballard - Almost There (1987 Wichita Kansas Space Psych Synth Folk LP)

Artist: Lander Ballard Track: Almost There (3:31) Album: Late Night Flight Label: Free Wind Records (Wichita, KS) Catalog Number: LB8703 / Side 2 Release Year: 1987 Genre: Psychedelic Folk Rock / Space Folk / Synth Folk / Kansas Private Press Songwriter: Lander Ballard (Flatlands Music - BMI) Personnel: Lander Ballard - Vocals, Guitars Lee Velasquez - Bass & Lead Bass Mark Lloyd - Drums & Percussion Rick Meyer - Saxophones Production Credits: Produced by: Lander Ballard and Larry Funk Engineered by: Larry Funk Recorded at: Miller Recording Studio (Newton, KS) Cover Illustration: Michael Behrends Album Background & Liner Notes: A phenomenal, macro-rare 1987 private-press concept album out of Wichita, Kansas. Returning to his independent Free Wind Records label ten years after his debut *Hightime*, multi-instrumentalist Lander Ballard shifts his signature psychedelic folk-rock style into a space-age, late-80s "synth-folk" universe. Tracked close to home at Miller Recording Studio in Newton, Kansas and mastered in Hollywood by Steve Hall, the album features spectacular futuristic jacket illustration by Michael Behrends. It captures a brilliant fusion of lone-acoustic lyricism, cosmic synthesizers, and driving regional indie-rock structures. Track Notes: Late Night Flight draws to its final destination on the beautiful, evocative closer "Almost There." Functioning as an emotional narrative of perseverance and cosmic homecoming, the track utilizes a prominent, melodic lead bass melody from Lee Velasquez. Supported by a steady drum cadence and late-night saxophone flourishes from Rick Meyer, Ballard's lyrics resolve into an uplifting loop ("Keep on, keep on... you're almost there") before the cosmic arrangement fades out completely into the dead wax runout grooves of this prized 1987 pressing.